Serious [Meme]Change my mind: My brother did

[Ninahaza]

My brother is a marine veteran. He has, for years, insisted i (legally) carry a gun whenever in public.

Usually i always give him the same excuse, but its 2019, kids are shooting up schools and social events, he has started to change my mind.

My brother is a john wick with a gun (thanks u.s marine system), but i am not. I guess my question is, am i making a mistake by planning to legally own a firearm by the weekend

Ps this is him

God, what a stark

 

[Surgo]

Nothing wrong with carrying, but at least make sure that you can draw and shoot with it reasonably proficiently and it's a gun you're personally comfortable with.

You can build up to it too -- start by carrying it unloaded, then loaded but without a round in the chamber, then finally loaded and ready.

By the weekend you should probably think about what you actually want in a firearm. Size, presence (or absence) of a safety, etc.

 

[Asek]

Would a member of house stark carry a firearm for protection?

 

[Ninahaza]

Would you like to see a member of HouseStark carry a sword? How about an angry dire wolf? Oops, i mean dog

;)

(At least surgo was helpful)

 

[Pidge]

If this is about gun control, I think you can own a firearm whether you are for or against more of it without being a hypocrite.

 

[Ninahaza]

Ignoring "the puglist"s deleted post

If this is about gun control, I think you can own a firearm whether you are for or against more of it without being a hypocrite.

What a curious way to end a statement

 

[Surgo]

Things you'll need to decide are like...

Revolver vs semi: revolvers are more reliable in the face of bad ammo, but not necessarily more reliable in general.
Size and shape: you want it to fit your hands comfortably, and you also want it to fit on the body part you'll be carrying it on comfortably without it looking like you're carrying a gun.
Safety presence/absence: Glocks don't have any, 1911s have two. This one is all about what you feel is best.

 

[Hipmonlee]

I dont even know if I can begin to try to convince you of anything because the idea of living in a place where you felt you needed to be prepared to kill other people in order to feel safe is so bizarre to me I wouldnt know where to start.

But have you seriously considered moving to some place where you would feel safer?

 

[Ninahaza]

Thank you, surgo. I will be sure to find a way to privately message you (or pm you right here on smogon). I am sure further questions will come up on my part

I dont even know if I can begin to try to convince you of anything because the idea of living in a place where you felt you needed to be prepared to kill other people in order to feel safe is so bizarre to me I wouldnt know where to start.

But have you seriously considered moving to some place where you would feel safer?

Sigh. I get what you are saying. But things are a bit more complicated for such a simple solution.

For one, i have already built a life in America. And as much as we all like to have differing opinions on the place, its still one of the better places to build a life.

Also American gun culture has created a problem where we have too many guns. Seemingly everyone has a gun. That is enough of a reason to arm yourself as well, if only because we live in a society (aka the cops wont stop my neighbor from shooting me if he really wanted to. This is just an example. I love my neighbor)

But at the end of the day, i also know a move is a better solution, and that just getting a weapon is more of a shortcut to a solution.

We will talk more about this i am sure. I am still mauling things over, hip

 

[Diophantine]

Just don't kill anyone, please.

 

[Taylor]

I ain't no expert on carrying but if someone is prepared and attempts to kill you, then you have every right to kill them first. The only advantage to have a firearm in case of a deadly attack is being able to respond before they do. If you can incapacitate your attacker by shooting them down but not killing them, then that is even better...

Overall I hear that if you live by the sword, you will die by it. In the UK you're likely to become the victim of knives/guns if you own one yourself, as people will get to know eventually and once word gets out, those rumours/stories spread out of control and you could end up being hurt more than if you didn't have one at all, or even worse killed.

 

[Surgo]

Overall I hear that if you live by the sword, you will die by it. In the UK you're likely to become the victim of knives/guns if you own one yourself, as people will get to know eventually and once word gets out, those rumours/stories spread out of control and you could end up being hurt more than if you didn't have one at all, or even worse killed.

While this is true for firearms in the US as well, it's not clear if that's only the case because of suicides (the vast majority of firearm deaths in the USA are suicides).

 

[Ninahaza]

Just don't kill anyone, please.

Lol. I may have approached all of this in a wrong manner, maybe, but the point is, this is about personal self defense.

I have no interest in killing another human being just to kill them. Thats just dumb and heartless.

 

[Ninahaza]

Hell i have no interest in hunting. But apparently my brother is taking me to the gun range and i have no choice.

 

[Surgo]

While I love the taste of deer and wouldn't mind having it reliably, I don't own a truck and the idea of fireman carrying a deer carcass for a mile to the processor's just puts me off.

Also being outside in the cold autumn, fuck that.

 

[Alan]

I've lived in America for my entire life. Never once shot anybody (or thing). Never felt the need to. The only reason I would ever buy a gun is to go to a range because it's fun, or if I was going on a long camping trip because I don't have claws or sharp teeth and bears/wolves/badgers do. I think carrying a gun around in public is stupid and unnecessary. I am also a military member and am comfortable with using a gun. It's not myself I'm worried about, it's all the other cunts. I personally am very pro gun control and think anything over like a .22 is ridiculous, outside of going to a gun range or a bolt-action hunting rifle, but that's just me.

An easier solution is to avoid dangerous areas. Don't go to West Baltimore (or whatever the equivalent seedy part of your city is) and just mind ya damn business. You'd be amazed how easy it is to not find yourself in sketchy situations.

And please don't feel the need to emulate American "culture".

 

[orch]

Guns are great when you need it. Yes, it's true that you won't need it for most scenarios, but you never know.

 

[Diophantine]

Lol. I may have approached all of this in a wrong manner, maybe, but the point is, this is about personal self defense.

I have no interest in killing another human being just to kill them. Thats just dumb and heartless.

I meant even in self-defense. If you’re just going to threaten to deter attacks, then fine, but please don’t kill someone. Fire warning shots if you have to or, if you’re skilled and absolutely have to, at least aim for non-vital areas.

 

[Surgo]

I meant even in self-defense. If you’re just going to threaten to deter attacks, then fine, but please don’t kill someone. Fire warning shots if you have to or, if you’re skilled and absolutely have to, at least aim for non-vital areas.

That's not how guns work.

There are no such thing as "warning shots". That's a Hollywood myth. There also aren't "non-vital areas". That's also a Hollywood myth; anywhere you shoot could end up being vital depending on what you nick. When you shoot, you shoot to stop the threat. That means you shoot at the center of mass until the threat is gone.

 

[Diophantine]

That's not how guns work.

There are no such thing as "warning shots". That's a Hollywood myth. There also aren't "non-vital areas". That's also a Hollywood myth; anywhere you shoot could end up being vital depending on what you nick. When you shoot, you shoot to stop the threat. That means you shoot at the center of mass until the threat is gone.

When I said "non-vital" I meant that somewhere where you shoot and the person has a decent chance to survive if they get treated. Agreed though, take my opinion with a pinch of salt - I'm from a country where it's illegal to own a gun, so I have no experience with it and was only trying to appeal to the "only if absolutely necessary" notion.

 

[Ninahaza]

When I said "non-vital" I meant that somewhere where you shoot and the person has a decent chance to survive if they get treated. Agreed though, take my opinion with a pinch of salt - I'm from a country where it's illegal to own a gun, so I have no experience with it and was only trying to appeal to the "only if absolutely necessary" notion.

I am curious as to why you feel the need to remind me of a notion a bad guy wouldn't consider.

The only thing a bad guy would give me is a shocked "gasp" that they got shot back (or back at)

What if i were to be a father (i am a young man, perhaps someday i may be)
Every burglar and thief has a backstory, and they may even be a kid themselves or a student whom made a bad choice because they were down on their luck

Do i have a right to still put a bullet through your skull and split your brain in half to protect my wife and child? This is of course extreme, but i want an honest answer from you

 

[GatoDelFuego]

An easier solution is to avoid dangerous areas. Don't go to West Baltimore (or whatever the equivalent seedy part of your city is) and just mind ya damn business. You'd be amazed how easy it is to not find yourself in sketchy situations.

What about people with the unfortunate scenario of actually living in these places? Not everybody can move out at a whim

 

[orch]

A gun costs $300-500, and that's plenty to move away few miles away or so.

 

[Hipmonlee]

So I guess the other question then is, if you really dont want to move, maybe its not actually so bad that you need a gun?

A gun costs $300-500, and that's plenty to move away few miles away or so.

You cant move anywhere with $300.. I assume you have to pay a bond when you rent in America? That alone would be at least twice that in most cities..

 

[Diophantine]

I am curious as to why you feel the need to remind me of a notion a bad guy wouldn't consider.

The only thing a bad guy would give me is a shocked "gasp" that they got shot back (or back at)

What if i were to be a father (i am a young man, perhaps someday i may be)
Every burglar and thief has a backstory, and they may even be a kid themselves or a student whom made a bad choice because they were down on their luck

Do i have a right to still put a bullet through your skull and split your brain in half to protect my wife and child? This is of course extreme, but i want an honest answer from you

You just said exactly what I meant.